Frequently Asked Questions

Glossary

Terms used in stem cell science – from Adult Stem Cell to Zygote.

Stem cells are single cells with two unique qualities–they can make endless copies of themselves and they can mature into a variety of specialized cells. These qualities make them promising new tools in medicine, allowing patients to receive needed cells or tissues or have diseased cells or tissues replaced with healthy ones.

Grown in the lab, genetically repaired if needed and coaxed to become a specific tissue, stem cells could allow doctors to patch a scarred heart, reawaken damaged nerves or reboot an immune system incapable of fighting infection. Stem cells are also very valuable to scientists in understanding human disease.

Boston Children’s Hospital believes that stem cell research holds extraordinary promise for the children we treat and for countless others around the world. The mission of the Stem Cell Program at Boston Children’s Hospital is to explore, understand, and translate this promise into clinical therapies and treatments.

There are two general types of stem cells, both of which are being studied at Children’s.